Sunday, 29 November 2009

  • A bright red shirt

    The day I stepped out in a (counterfeit) Manchester United jersey, within the first few minutes, I got double that number of "Wow!" and "Nice shirt!" And I wasn't even out of the girls' room/corridor yet.

    The boys' reactions were significantly bigger, and very telling of their football allegiances, as well as how well they know (or do not know) me. "Yen!!! Since when!"

    Ben took it upon himself to outline three reasons to justify my appearance in the (powerful, as I discovered) shirt:

    1. There are things about you I don't know.
    2. You have a boyfriend I don't know about who has very diverse interests from yours.
    3. You're really out of clothes.

    To which on retrospect he added:

    4. Standing in front of a carcinogenic barbecue pit really got to me: this is not happening.

    The truth (as I knew it) was that I needed a red shirt (the brighter the better) to play the role of Traffic Light Red, and someone told me that Tse Hwei had one that fit me. Hence the tape recorder lines: "It's not mine, Tse Hwei's wan."

    In the end the real reason was part of an elaborate trick hatched by the camp Fun Nite organiser herself. But I don't feel betrayed lah, Hwei. *grin*

Thursday, 12 November 2009

  • First semester of masters

    One of my favourite things about critical essays, apart from the Works Cited section (OCD!), is the title.


    Person from Porlock: Fact or Figment of Coleridge's Imagination?

    Black and/or White: Ralph Ellison Undermines Racial Binary Opposition in Invisible Man

    Prospero & Co.: Postcolonial Colonisation in Shakespeare's The Tempest

    Material and Psychological Equality as a Prerequisite for Marriage in Austen

    George Herbert's Temple: Building, Prayer, Song, World, and Man


    I wrote all of the above papers, with the exception of the first, which was only an exercise on formulating research topics.

Sunday, 18 October 2009

  • Deadline dissolves overnight

    One phone call,
    One bombshell.
    (Life is full of shocks and surprises.)

    Ten thousand words, due one week's notice,
    Candidature defense next week.
    (You can do it, roomie!)

    My ten to fifteen pages pales,
    Discolours in comparison.
    (Same deadline, the first of a string.)

    Two postgrads permanently stationed in front of laptops,
    The combined academic output rockets sky-high.
    (Guess which room...)

    Final few weeks of the semester,
    Two disciplines, Third Sem and First Sem, respectively.
    (Nod and How d'ye do.)

Thursday, 01 October 2009

Saturday, 26 September 2009

  • There's something about convo

    DSC_6038

    There's something about entering the hall together as a procession, that is not worth being late for.

    I finally met, in person, the fellow L's whose names I always saw under/after my own in namelists at the faculty dean's office when collecting examination slips, results, and so forth.

    I observed: Many people forgot to smile whilst on stage.
    Dad observed: I was the one who forgot to stop smiling.

    DSC_6073

    For the first time in the history of my mobile phone usage, my inbox was full and new incoming messages could not come in. (Thank you, :P)

    DSC_6185

    There's something about waking up to a pretty little garden at your bedside. :)

    I attended a total of 2 convocation ceremonies (including my own), 5 post-convocations, 1 grand celebration dinner (clashed head-on with an otherwise second dinner, unfortunately), and 3 photo shoots.

    DSC_6876

    DSC_7289

    Many thanks to my current roomie for fitting up my robe the night before, Stephanie for make-up consultation & artistry, and Benjamin for everything photography.

    Albums here, here, and here.

    R001-016

    Much love to the gals (and one guy) who graduated with that B.A. in English Literature...

    ...As well as the roomies, college mates, PKVians, and others, who made up the rest of my undergraduate life.


    wheatongrad2_resize

    She dreamt of this day.
    Someone thought it'd be cute to take a picture of me in my dad's M.A. graduation hood and mortar board. Too bad I closed my eyes.

Friday, 28 August 2009

Friday, 07 August 2009

  • The great Michael William sits down beside me.

    "Have you found love?"

    "What is love?"

    "Don't give me existential questions."

    "You always tell me to get a life, not find love."

Thursday, 06 August 2009

Wednesday, 05 August 2009

  • Pangkor

    r001-002

    Genuine surprise in tea candles, 'cheesecake', and the swing ride of my life.
    'Tis since known, I rarely let an empty swing pass me by.


    Receding shoreline reveals delayed moisture line; it's the beach equalizer.
    Nocturnal shoreline marked by luminous blue plankton.


    Ever wonder what it's like to be a creature of the waves, riding in and out with the tide?
    He just wonders what it's like to be a creature of light.


    Lying on rocks like beached whales,
    Turn my head, fix my eyes on the vertical horizon...and my mind on what lay beyond.


    Thought at breakfast: Somewhere in the world, it's dinnertime.
    Thought at dinner: If you drink too much limau panas, will you pickle your stomach?
    Thence earned the title of Random Number Generator.

    5573_790670941988_5723464_45392931_1787007_n

    Sotong bakar and little bowls of laksa,
    Ikan bakar and Ribena berry juice.


    Secret mermaid cove, guerilla tunnels and crabs in a tidepool,
    And that window into Never, Neverland.

    r001-019

    Clutch a snorkel mask like an otter, kick-waves frothing in my ear,
    What bliss to drift in the sea, fingertips trailing in the sand.

Thursday, 16 July 2009

  • Est. 1986

    To live within Time's bending sickle
    What matters a hundred times more
    Better reasons and brute honesty
    Turn left turn right you're gone.

    I was happiest when
    With tabula rasa innocents
    Free expression
    We do this out of love for the arts.

    A is for apple, B is a forbidden word,
    C is for chicken, D is the decanter,
    E is empty/enough, F is for floorball,
    G is for guffaw, H is the Beatrix Potter hare.

    Stray sandal are you mad?
    Of three syllable names, darling loud duo,
    Literal tak mau ice, and candle box violence.
    Scream hand me a bill evaporate in dry ice.

    Stricken (with an)
    Inability (for)
    Felicity (on)--
    Was I wrong
    For change?

    I need to talk;
    I. D. K. H. T. B. H. O. M. B. A.
    Ambiguous morality and explicit sex scenes.
    People change.


    Thank you² for listening.

  • Visit y2leong's Xanga Site
    • Name: Yen2
    • Birthday: 7/15/1986
    • Gender: Female
    • Member Since: 5/28/2003
  • "Yen is yenning for a yen at the yenning well, where she needs a yen to yen some more."
[no comments]
Don't worry - your calendar is here… to see it in action just click "Save" above and refresh the page.